(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an apparatus for controlling the positioning of one or more of the seats for a vehicle, such as a double stroller, with an actuating mechanism beneath the seat. The mechanism controls not only the seating arrangement from a tandem arrangement to a lateral arrangement and vice versa, but also the seat's pivoting, sliding and revolving.
Transporting a child in a stroller is a convenience that may become complicated when more than one child needs to be transported. Several options are available for transporting more than one child, including, but not limited to, double strollers with the seats in tandem, double strollers with the seats side-by-side or lateral, two single strollers with their frames interlocked together to form an ad hoc double stroller, and multi-seat strollers. Although these options may be beneficial to some users, disadvantages still exist. For example, a lateral double stroller may be prohibited from entering or passing through certain spaces, such as standard entryways or narrow shopping aisles, without the need to unload the children and to collapse the stroller. In a tandem double stroller, the viewpoint of the child sitting in the rear seat may be limited. Some attempts to provide more flexibility in seating arrangements include devices which clamp or interlock two single stroller frames together; however, such devices may be complicated, time-consuming, and/or require use of various tools for assembly. Therefore, it would be advantageous and convenient to be able to readily and easily convert the seating arrangement between tandem and lateral arrangements, as well as to adjust the seat's pivoting, sliding and revolving to create a customized configuration.
Furthermore, a need exists for an apparatus for controlling the positioning of one or more of the seats for a vehicle, specifically a double stroller, by using an actuating mechanism having a single handle for controlling the seat's pivoting, sliding and revolving, and for controlling the seating arrangement from a tandem arrangement to a lateral arrangement and vice versa.
(2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98.
The following patents are arguably material to the patentability of the invention disclosed herein:
Patent/App. #1st InventorDate of Issue/Publication4,805,938Redmond et al.Feb. 21, 19895,522,121Fraynd et al.Jun. 4, 19965,918,892Aaron et al.Jul. 6, 19996,527,294 B1Brewington et al.Mar. 4, 20036,863,297ShapiroMar. 8, 20052008/0179863 A1 SchonfeldJul. 31, 2008
U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,938 issued to Redmond et al. discloses a device for connecting the frames of two single strollers together. It discloses a pair of spaced apart bracket units that clamp the two stroller frames together so that one person can operate the strollers simultaneously when transporting two occupants. Each housing segment has a central inwardly extending recess from the mating edge in which a bolt passes therethrough. It also discloses a spring disposed onto a bolt between the recesses so that the segments will separate when a wing nut is loosened on the bolt. It discloses a modified bracket unit having a housing segment that includes a stationary middle member having a side square shaped hole at each end and a pair of moving members. It further discloses that each moving member has a side square shaped shaft to slidably fit into the respective side square shaped hole.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,522,121 issued to Fraynd et al. discloses a device for engaging any two stroller devices using two spaced apart components coupled with a snap release connector. The device has a male section and a female section, with the female section allowing for a snap release action of the parts when a connector cover is pulled. The connector cover uses a front to back snapping motion, while a disc serves as the stopper motion. Pulling the connector cover releases connecting teeth to create a separation in the two components of the device.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,863,297 issued to Shapiro discloses a stroller with wheels having pivoting wheel support units. A front wheel fork may be released by a user pressing a spring-biased release button, after which a user may pivot the forward wheel in its same plane, down and away from its operative position in one axis.
None of the aforementioned discloses an apparatus for controlling the positioning of one or more of the seats for vehicle, specifically a double stroller, the apparatus comprising an actuating mechanism with a single handle for controlling the seat's pivoting, sliding and revolving, and for controlling the seating arrangement from a tandem arrangement to a lateral arrangement and vice versa.